1. Imagine what the play would be with actors playing all the parts live on stage right in front of you. Without actors a play cannot come to life and realize its true purpose as a work of art. What actors have you seen on film or television or on stage that you can imagine playing the roles of the chief (or any of the) characters in the play?
2. Treat every bit of information provided by the playwright as if it had some deeper significance. (EXAMPLE: What does Teeta’s loss of a quarter tell us about the socio-economic level of most of the characters in the play? How does Julia’s seemingly insignificant act of kindness to replace the lost quarter eventually lead her to offer Teeta and her mother valuable tickets on a steamship bound for New York? And what does New York symbolize to Julia and Herman?) (ANOTHER EXAMPLE: The bellman doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the dramatic action, or does he? What purpose does he serve in the play and why is he introduced at particular moments in the play?)
3. The place where the dramatic action takes place was chosen by the playwright to assist you to understand the world in which the characters operate. Carefully examine the physical environment surrounding the dramatic action of the whole play, as well as each scene and act. What are the essential features that need to be there to sharpen our perception of the conflicts between the characters? (EXAMPLE: Why does all the dramatic action of Wedding Band take place in the “backyard” and individual “rooms” of three separate small houses on a property in which there is a “great house” facing the street in front which we never see? What is implied about the “city by the sea” that we can’t see?)
4. What is the significance of the time of day, month, and year in which the action is set? What is the season of the year and how does that further the significance of the dramatic action? Would the Winter months have been appropriate for the action in Wedding Band?
5. What do the chief characters want? How do they go about getting what they want? What stands in the way of their efforts to realize their wants? What are the conflicts in the play? How are the conflicts resolved? Or are they?
6. State the dramatic question in your own words. For example, is the dramatic question that is asked and must be answered by the end of the play Wedding Band as follows: “Will Julia and Herman get married?” OR “Can a white man ever love and marry a black woman in South Carolina?” OR “Can racism ever be abolished in the United States?” OR, OR, OR
7. What are the themes of the play? Themes may be interpreted as topics.
BE SPECIFIC WHEN YOU DISCUSS ANY PLAY AND BE READY TO SUPPORT YOUR OPINIONS.
1. Imagine what the play would be with actors playing all the parts live on stage right in front of you. Without actors a play cannot come to life and realize its true purpose as a work of art. What actors have you seen on film or television or on stage that you can imagine playing the roles of the chief (or any of the) characters in the play?
2. Treat every bit of information provided by the playwright as if it had some deeper significance. (EXAMPLE: What does Teeta’s loss of a quarter tell us about the socio-economic level of most of the characters in the play? How does Julia’s seemingly insignificant act of kindness to replace the lost quarter eventually lead her to offer Teeta and her mother valuable tickets on a steamship bound for New York? And what does New York symbolize to Julia and Herman?) (ANOTHER EXAMPLE: The bellman doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the dramatic action, or does he? What purpose does he serve in the play and why is he introduced at particular moments in the play?)
3. The place where the dramatic action takes place was chosen by the playwright to assist you to understand the world in which the characters operate. Carefully examine the physical environment surrounding the dramatic action of the whole play, as well as each scene and act. What are the essential features that need to be there to sharpen our perception of the conflicts between the characters? (EXAMPLE: Why does all the dramatic action of Wedding Band take place in the “backyard” and individual “rooms” of three separate small houses on a property in which there is a “great house” facing the street in front which we never see? What is implied about the “city by the sea” that we can’t see?)
4. What is the significance of the time of day, month, and year in which the action is set? What is the season of the year and how does that further the significance of the dramatic action? Would the Winter months have been appropriate for the action in Wedding Band?
5. What do the chief characters want? How do they go about getting what they want? What stands in the way of their efforts to realize their wants? What are the conflicts in the play? How are the conflicts resolved? Or are they?
6. State the dramatic question in your own words. For example, is the dramatic question that is asked and must be answered by the end of the play Wedding Band as follows: “Will Julia and Herman get married?” OR “Can a white man ever love and marry a black woman in South Carolina?” OR “Can racism ever be abolished in the United States?” OR, OR, OR
7. What are the themes of the play? Themes may be interpreted as topics.
BE SPECIFIC WHEN YOU DISCUSS ANY PLAY AND BE READY TO SUPPORT YOUR OPINIONS.